Residents of the Comox Valley were greeted with varying amounts of snow Saturday morning as a large weather system blanketed all of Vancouver Island.
Comox saw 15 to 20 centimetres of snow while Courtenay and Cumberland had about 8 to 10 centimetres on the ground by mid-morning.
Snowplows from the Town of Comox were out shortly after the flakes began falling along with private contractors that were out in force clearing parking lots.
“So we started at 3 a.m. and it’s been snowing pretty steadily,” said Gasmin Gauereault, who was cleaning the Comox Mall parking lot for J.R. Edgett Excavating.
Kerry Stack was out walking her dog in Comox enjoying the snow Saturday morning.
“I’m loving it right now but I’m glad we only have one storm a year,” she said.
The Inland Island Highway was mostly snow-covered south of Courtenay Saturday morning but Mainroad North Island had the highway clear and wet by the afternoon.
Even Tofino and Ucluelet recorded a few centimetres of snow and 5 centimetres fell in Port Alberni.
The higher amounts were reserved for the east side of Vancouver Island with 30 centimetres falling in Nanaimo where public works crews hit the snowy roads in 18 trucks Friday night after the snow started falling around 11 p.m.
“We’ve seen ten to twelve inches and again it’s pretty consistent across the city from north to south from College Heights right down to downtown,” said David Thompson, City of Nanaimo Public Works Manager of Roads and Traffic.
Thompson says it could be a few days before it’s all cleaned up and residents can help road crews by parking their vehicles in their driveways if they have the option.
He’s also asking people to be patient, as another storm is expected to blanket the area with more snow on Sunday.
READ MORE: Highway maintenance crews, police, city staff ask everyone to stay home amid snowstorm
Dean Stoltz
